Island Princess Review

Island Princess - Hawaii

Review for Hawaii Cruise on Island Princess
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Kathleen
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Jan 2006

My husband and I were on this ship in 2004 for its final transit of the Panama Canal. Call us neophytes, as that trip was our first cruise, decided on a whim one snowy, snowy, snowy and cold March weekend. We really had a wonderful time on this trip and could hardly wait to sign up for another cruise. We were very happy when we decided to take this very same ship to Hawaii, in part because we would have an extended day to spend with our nephew, who lives on Oahu.

Many of the things we liked about the Island Princess were the same. We liked the cabin (a basic balcony) and the quietness they afford for privacy, sleeping and reading. Its a very womb-like environment that both my husband and I crave since we are very much out in the public when we are at home and working. For my part, Im sure the food could be better, but it is more than adequate simply by virtue of the fact that I dont have to cook it or clean up after it. My husband enjoys the quiet of some of the semi-private areas such as the Library and Crooners Bar where he can go to people watch, read and write. I retire to the bow areas sun deck or near the splash pool for the same activities. Yes, the dEcor is a bit over-glitzy for our taste, but we have no huge problem with this and the staff from the Captain right down to the plumber are friendly and helpful in almost all areas. During this January, 2006 cruise, the only complaints I have about the staff are that requested fruit never arrived and that the complimentary bathrobes were not in our stateroom when we got there. When requested, they were promptly delivered, but there were obvious stains on them, despite washing. I am not sure I would blame this on the steward, since I believe that they get their information from the online form  so it seems to me that someone is not paying attention to that end of things. Finally, here, after 2 more years of use since our 2004 trip, the cabin dEcor is starting to look a little tired, though again, everything was clean and neat.

On the not so happy side, I will have to echo a couple of the other reviews here when I talk about some of the other aspects of the trip, especially the transfers from LAX to the ship and some of the not too true excuses given out by the ship to the passengers. First, there was no one in sight when we arrived at LAX and it took some time for us to call Princess and remind them that we were coming. We were then left waiting with upwards of 60+ people out in the median outside the terminal with a gigantic pile of luggage for well over an hour until the rude and inconsiderate Princess staff saw fit to allow us onto the busses, which they seemed very confused about themselves. A woman near me in this sweltering herd was very concerned about her baggage and tried to ask one of the staff a question, but he rudely snubbed her and just turned away. In addition, although my husband and I are fairly young (mid-40s to 50s), many of the people in this large group were either elderly, disabled, on canes or walkers or  quite bluntly  obese  and unable to put up with all the standing in the hot sun.

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